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T O P I C R E V I E W
Keeper of the Past	Posted - Jan 25 2011 : 04:15:48 AM I know that there are many gals on MJ's that loves to craft with fibers of all kinds in many different forms and others that would like to learn a new fiber craft. What is your favorite fiber and what do you make with it? Do you have a favorite place to play with your fiber...knitting in your rocker to out in the barn still on the goat or sheep? Do you start waiting on your next new spinning, weaving, knitting, sewing or rug hooking magazine to arrive in your mail box? I enjoy talking and learning from others that create with some form of fiber. Just to mention a few: spinning, knitting, weaving, rug hooking, sewing, felting, dyeing fibers. Do you attend fiber shows or have a favorite yarn shop that you haunt? Would you like to learn a new fiber craft? Let's share. www.coffmanspinningcfarm.blogspot.com
25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First)
Sheep Mom 2	Posted - Mar 19 2011 : 10:29:25 AM I have to laugh at myself - after spinning shetland for so long I decided to work on some Merino commercial combed top that I bought on a good sale awhile back and I have been fighting it tooth and nail. I will get a good rhythm going along and then ----it breaks. I think I am beginning to long for my shetland back!! I'm sure it's just me but it sure has been a lesson in frustration. Any words of advice from the pros would be welcome. Blessings, Sheri "Work is Love made visible" -Kahlil Gibran
grace gerber	Posted - Mar 18 2011 : 8:14:44 PM Oh My Carole - thank you for such kind words. I just finished about 6 dozen new yarns and hope to get them up on my shops this weekend - that is after I get the chicken coop cleaned, the cashmere girls plucked of their fiber and move a ton of hay... I must admit I love these new yarns and againg thank you so much for your sweet words... Grace Gerber Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com http://larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com
foreverbooks	Posted - Mar 18 2011 : 1:06:13 PM I have bought yarn from Grace and her yarn is absolutely gorgeous! Carole Arizona Farmgirl Sister #2556
grace gerber	Posted - Mar 18 2011 : 1:03:40 PM Oh that is a hard one... I would say I had a few Icelandic ewes who would shear like a dream, very little effort to spin and was soft as butter. That is in wool. My softest fleece in alpaca came from Silver Hawk and silver gray weather alpaca boy who was silky, had great sheen and spun quick and soft. My best fiber is any of my cashmere - they are my joy and I feel the softest on the planet. However for fast draw with softnest that would be my angora's. Oh I must say there is not a fleece here on the farm that I do love to spin - sell quickly and dream of having a 100 more just like them. Unfair question but a good one. Grace Gerber Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com http://larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com
lsarah	Posted - Mar 18 2011 : 07:14:49 AM I have been playing in the fleece, and it got me to wondering. What breed of sheep is the softest fleece you gals have ever spun? In my limited experience,it was one particular Shetland sheep - cloud soft. But I haven't spun that many different breeds. ~Lori She works with eager hands...Proverbs 31:13 http://www.sarahkatefibers.etsy.com www.sarahkatefibers.blogspot.com
grace gerber	Posted - Mar 09 2011 : 6:24:25 PM Lori, I would spin a tail spun yarn - use those colors and curls to their best and so off that range of color within one fleece. Just my two cents. Grace Gerber Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com http://larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com
lsarah	Posted - Mar 09 2011 : 04:20:06 AM I have washed one of my fleeces, and now I can't decided how to spin it. With all of the different colors, I hate to comb or card them all together to make one plain brown. What do you ladies think? ~Lori She works with eager hands...Proverbs 31:13 http://www.sarahkatefibers.etsy.com www.sarahkatefibers.blogspot.com
Keeper of the Past	Posted - Mar 06 2011 : 11:04:31 AM Grace, I have only spun cashmere as a blend. It has been a very long time but I think I spun short draw, really thin and triple plied to make a yarn to use for decorative stitches. It had a very shiny and elegant look and I divided it into small skeins and dyed them each a different color to use on a project. If I remember right, I pulled my hair at first and almost gave up but after a few tears, it was worth the effort. www.coffmanspinningcfarm.blogspot.com
grace gerber	Posted - Mar 06 2011 : 10:35:09 AM Sarita is so right - it is very much dependant on the condition of the fiber, what you want to do with it and how much time to you have.. I had a question for you all - what is your favorite way to spin cashmere?? I am presently going thru and hand removing the guard hairs and then will need to decide on what I wish to do next. I have many folks on facebook who are wanting me to sell it raw but have found most stuggle with it so I thought I might give the new buyers some ideas and thought I might pick your brains. I know how I spin it but really would like to hear how others work with it. Many thanks in advance. Grace Gerber Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com http://larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com
Keeper of the Past	Posted - Mar 03 2011 : 8:08:52 PM Lori, I have used the triple picker to open fibers and to remove vm. I use many tools to get my fiber ready to spin. I treat each fleece individually. Sometimes I pick the fiber and then drum card, sometimes I use combs or hand card and then drum card. Sometimes I card and then comb. It all depends on the fiber. www.coffmanspinningcfarm.blogspot.com
vmfein	Posted - Mar 01 2011 : 7:05:36 PM I have never tried weaving, but do have a weaving kit. Once I get done with a embroidery/quilting project I plan on starting to work on the weaving. I have purchased some felting items but have not done them yet. I am just concentrating on the big IOU Christmas gift still for my sister and brother in law. Hope to have it done by next week and then start on the other projects. Next week is spring break, woohoo! Farmgirl Sister #2619
grace gerber	Posted - Mar 01 2011 : 07:36:45 AM Lori - glad to hear that it moved sometimes mine take months to get from one spot to the next... I found that neps are when the operator pushes too much through and if the fiber has breaks in it. I personally love to just spin from the clouds and if you are felting it is all I do to get the fibers ready to lay out before wetting. For a lot of people they then run the clouds thru the carder to make batts or to then pull from the carder to make rovings. I will be interested to read what others feel about their pickers. I admit I do not use it as much as I thought I would be that is also because over the years I have designed other ways to get fiber to certain points of production. Grace Gerber Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com http://larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com
lsarah	Posted - Feb 28 2011 : 2:35:44 PM Okay, Sarita, I know you have said you have a picker. What is its purpose? I have seen fiber that has been through a picker, clouds, I think it is called. What do you do with it then? Run it through a carder? Wouldn't that make a lot of neps since the fibers are all jumbled? I have been washing Merino that mom gave me today. This is the first time I have worked with this fiber. It is really nice! Grace - I didn't get to the bamboo yet. It has moved from the tote in the craft room to the spinning basket, though! ~Lori She works with eager hands...Proverbs 31:13 http://www.sarahkatefibers.etsy.com www.sarahkatefibers.blogspot.com
lsarah	Posted - Feb 17 2011 : 2:49:01 PM Thanks Grace! I will probably start on it tonight! ~Lori She works with eager hands...Proverbs 31:13 http://www.sarahkatefibers.etsy.com www.sarahkatefibers.blogspot.com
grace gerber	Posted - Feb 17 2011 : 10:58:49 AM Lori I feel your pain - I have had that happen that I worked and worked on a line of batts and by the time I was done I was so happy to see it leave. I did have a llama girl who I never used - sold it right after shearing because her and I did not like each other and every time I had my hands on it I got horribly anger. Reason why was she killed another llama mom's baby for no reason other then being a witch... She was sold shortly after that to a lady who only had her and no others to worry about. As for the Bamboo - I have spun it by itself and made incredible yarn. I found you have to keep your hands a bit cool otherwise the warmth seems to drag on the fibers and you might get uneven spinning. Good Luck Grace Gerber Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com http://larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com
forgetmenot	Posted - Feb 17 2011 : 08:27:47 AM Also, I do not have fiber animals. Thought at one time about angora rabbits. Had to choose between rabbits and husband. Tough choice. "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the belief that something is more important than fear." Ambrose Red Moon
forgetmenot	Posted - Feb 17 2011 : 08:26:01 AM Sarita, in my teens and twenties I learned to crochet a bit of lace, scarves, afghans, etc. (nothing fancy). In my twenties I started to weave just on a frame loom. I still have 2 pillows from those days. Even used a friend's dog's hair (samoyed) I have a drop spindle, but used it only once, and hope to get back to that. I embroider, do a little hand sewing. But, I fall in love all over again with soft yarns and the beginnings of textiles. Now I'm in my 60's..eyes not so good..want to work with yarn more. "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the belief that something is more important than fear." Ambrose Red Moon
lsarah	Posted - Feb 17 2011 : 07:52:21 AM I just finished a roving that I sure had a time with. I washed a white BL fleece, and the tips, of course, would not come white. They were stained a golden tan color, I figured once it was blended together, it would just make it cream, which it did, and it was pretty. Anyway. After I had all the combed locks carded into rovings, I decided to add some Tussah silk. I guess I couldn't leave well enough alone. I like to have never got it blended in, and it seemed like the more I worked with it, the messier it got. I finally wound up with a nice finished product. I had planned to keep it myself and spin it, but after I had spent all day yesterday carding(this after two other days spent washing and combing) to only wind up with a finished 5 ounces, I didn't even want it so I put it in my etsy shop. Kinda ruined it for me. Anybody else ever work with something until you are sick of it an there is no joy left? Also, do you think bamboo can be spun all by itself? I have some I bought at a fiber show that I would love to spin a single out of, and ply with a single spun wool, but I don't know if it is too slick to spin alone. ~Lori She works with eager hands...Proverbs 31:13 http://www.sarahkatefibers.etsy.com www.sarahkatefibers.blogspot.com
Keeper of the Past	Posted - Jan 29 2011 : 09:14:22 AM Thanks Judith, I do love color..and a big box of yarn can really distract me. Judith, do you have sheep or goats or any other fiber animals? Do you knit, weave, etc? www.coffmanspinningcfarm.blogspot.com
forgetmenot	Posted - Jan 29 2011 : 08:10:57 AM Sarita, I just went to your website. Your yarn looks so soft and beautiful! "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the belief that something is more important than fear." Ambrose Red Moon
Keeper of the Past	Posted - Jan 29 2011 : 06:27:39 AM I have 3 hat molds that are made from the black hard plastic, I always did the knit and wash to felt and then let dry on the mold. I put the hat on the mold and then used a hand held steamer to shape my hats. I have been dyeing yarn that I received from the processor and having a good time...I love color. I have to ask myself, what would I make with this color? Is it too bright? Would it look rich and wonderful knitted into gloves, sweater, hat, etc? I take my colored pencils and do rough sketches...I mean very rough sketches of an item and then color the item the color that I am thinking of dyeing to see if I will like it. Sometimes I just mix up the dye without a recipe but if I know I will be wanting to dye more, I am very specific about the amounts of everything and write it all down. How do you decide what colors to dye fiber? www.coffmanspinningcfarm.blogspot.com
grace gerber	Posted - Jan 27 2011 : 3:12:39 PM Sarita - sorry for the delay on the hat forms. They are a compost and solid all the way thru. The wood ones are wonderful but very expensive and the ones that are molded plastic do not hold up very well. There are several sights who sell a wide variety of them if you need names. Grace Gerber Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com http://larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com
Keeper of the Past	Posted - Jan 27 2011 : 1:34:48 PM Grace, I use the method of feeding on to the larger drum when doing longer fiber too and it saves me lots of grief. www.coffmanspinningcfarm.blogspot.com
Keeper of the Past	Posted - Jan 27 2011 : 01:44:13 AM Grace, I had not thought about using a dryer sheet on the drum carder. Lori, are you having problems with certain types of wool? I know that if I would just bite the bullet and make myself do more combing that I would adjust and maybe even like it. www.coffmanspinningcfarm.blogspot.com
grace gerber	Posted - Jan 26 2011 : 10:58:27 AM Lori here is what I do is skip the licker altogether - if you have flicked up the locks then just hold it close to your larger drum and let that drum catch the fibers. What type of carder is it? I agree you do not want stray fibers and such in your nice batt. I have also heard some ladyes take a cryers sheet and place it on the licker so it takes the place of fiber and so then they can proceed as normal. One way also you can get around the hand pain is clamp the other comb to a counter or table and use only one to move back and forth - Stanley will think you so clever and saving him money. Grace Gerber Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com http://larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com

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